Urethral Microbiome of Adolescent Males

描述：青春期男性前尿路的微生物区系描述很少，没有数据说明青春期作为青春期发育或各种类型的性伴侣活动开始的“典型”尿路微生物区系的范围。这意味着，目前对青春期男性尿路微生物群的了解完全依赖于来自成年人的数据，以及来自流行病学和行为的解释。青少年性行为的明显种族差异和性传播感染(STI)等疾病的差异证明有理由探索男性尿路微生物区系中潜在的种族差异。在成年男性中的一些研究表明，男性尿路微生物区系和性传播感染之间存在重要的相互作用，但这项研究尚未扩展到年轻男性。在这里，我们建议从一个多种族的青春期男性队列中收集纵向尿液样本来描述男性尿路微生物群的特征。微生物区系将被评估为青春期发育、性活动和性传播感染事件的功能。受试者将是拉丁裔(N=24)、非裔美国人(N=24)和欧洲裔美国人(N=24)男性，注册时年龄在14-17岁；总计N=72)。参与者将从性传播感染高发地区的一家城市诊所招募。社会人口数据将在注册时收集。日常行为和症状数据将通过手机收集，这也将用于队列维护和样本采集计划。将在注册时收集尿液和最多36个1个月的随访样本，用于高通量16S rRNA系统发育、Q-PCR和 元基因组测序。还将进行STI测试，以更好地了解尿路微生物群和感染之间的相互作用。手机还将用于在发生特定性行为、抗生素使用、避孕套失效或生殖器症状等触发事件后10天内每天收集样本。公共卫生相关性：该项目旨在描述青春期男性正常微生物群的范围，描述与青春期有关的变化，并将微生物群与性传播感染等潜在健康状况联系起来。

DESCRIPTION: The microflora of the anterior male urethra during adolescence is poorly described and no data address the range of "typical" urethral microflora during adolescence as functions of pubertal development or onset of various types of partnered sexual activity. This means that current understanding of the urethral microbiome in adolescent men rests entirely on data drawn from adults, and from epidemiologic and behavioral explanations. Marked ethnic group variation in adolescent sexual behaviors and disparity in conditions such as sexually transmitted infections (STI) justifies exploration of potential ethnic group differences in the male urethral microflora. Some research among adult males suggests important interactions between the male urethral microflora and STI, but this research has not been extended to younger men. Here we propose to characterize the male urethral microbiome in longitudinal urine samples collected from a multi-ethnic cohort of adolescent males. Microbial flora will be assessed as function of pubertal development, sexual activity, and incident STI. Subjects will be Latino (N=24), African-American (N=24), and Euro-American (N=24) males, ages 14 - 17 at enrollment; total N=72). Participants will be recruited from an urban clinic within an area of high prevalence of STI. Socio-demographic data will be collected at enrollment. Daily behavioral and symptomologic data will be collected via cell phone, which will also be used for cohort maintenance and scheduling of sample collections. Urine will be collected at enrollment and up to 36 1-month follow-up samples for characterization of microflora using high-throughput 16S rRNA phylogeny, Q-PCR and metagenomic sequencing. STI testing will be done as well to better understand interactions between the urethral microbiome and infection. Cell phones also will be used to initiate daily sample collection for 10 days following trigger events such as specific sexual acts, antibiotic use, condom failure, or genital symptoms. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The project is designed to describe the range of the normal microbiome of adolescent males, to describe the changes associated with puberty and to link the microbiome to potential health conditions such as sexually transmitted infections.